


Leave The City

by youwinricky



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Androids, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, ambi mighttt happen i'll update as it goes on, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 13:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17122331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youwinricky/pseuds/youwinricky
Summary: TJ didn’t know the model existed in the first place, he flipped through the repair books his father keeps in their rec room- nothing. He’s wondering where Cyrus really came from, because 2018 doesn’t even sound like a real year.





	Leave The City

**Author's Note:**

> hi, this is an android!au bcus i really like ex machina and i rewatched pewdiepie play detroit become human. 
> 
> title from: leave the city by twenty one pilots

“This is the second nightmare you had this week, TJ,” The sound of Amber’s voice echoes in his ear painfully. It causes TJ to rub at his eyes and push the heel of his palm against his forehead to rid of the pounding headache that appeared as soon as the nightmare fled from his brain. Amber adds, “And it’s only Wednesday.” TJ scoffs, although it comes out choked, more like a gasp- like he didn’t know that already. And he’s certain there would be more to come. They’ve started occurring more frequently than usual, to the point where his sister had started to wake him up during the particularly bad ones. This morning happened to be one of those detrimental moments. Amber’s voice is coated with fear, her blue eyes filled with that of worry and her voice laced with complete concern for her brother- even if TJ had told her numerous times that he didn’t need the sympathy nor pity. But he’d be a liar if he didn’t appreciate his sister coming into his room to make sure of his safety, even if it is four in the morning. 

“I’m alright,” TJ says. He squeezes his eyes shut tightly for a moment, and he definitely doesn’t miss the concern that flashes across Amber’s face before they’re opened again. “Promise,” he says, hoping that it would put his sister at ease. Her shoulders relax, but the expression on her face ceases to disappear. Her hand comes up to rest on his shoulder, but she quickly decides against it seconds later and her small hand drops to the bed comforter. 

Amber then asks the same question she’s been asking since the nightmares began. “What was it about?” TJ never gave her a complete answer, and he is sure she knows that quite well by now. Yet she always asks it. 

TJ never fully remembers them, only bits and pieces that have since scattered around his head from the moment he woke up to the next time he has one. This one had been about his mother dying, the cause unknown to him now. “Is mom okay?” He asks Amber instead of answering her question. Amber seems to understand where the question stemmed from, so she nods, saying, “‘Course she is. She left early to work with dad today, but she made us breakfast and everything.” She starts moving off the bed, signalling for TJ to follow her. 

He finds it odd that his mother had went into work so early when his father was the only one to ever do that. She’d usually go in after him and Amber got out of school. He follows Amber anyway, searching for a hoodie to throw over his thin tee shirt he’d been wearing during the night. His arms are already littered with goosebumps by the time he finds one. “Why’d she go in?” TJ asks while closing the door of his closet, the hinges creak, making his headache worsen. He tugs the sleeves of his hoodie down to pass his fingertips, captivating the warmth to keep it held inside. 

“I dunno,” Amber shrugs her shoulders. Then she smiles, “Well, hurry up. Breakfast is probably already getting cold.” She claps once, making TJ blink twice. His feet start moving him towards his door before his brain can catch up with them. 

Sure enough, their typical breakfast awaits for them at the kitchen counter. Two plates stacked on top of each other while two others hold pancakes and bacon. “She still doesn’t trust us to make our own food, huh?” TJ asks rhetorically, grabbing himself a plate for himself and passing one to Amber. She laughs quietly while getting herself two pancakes from the stack of six. 

“I don’t blame her,” Amber says while ignoring the bacon and heading towards the fruit instead. “Together we’re sort of unreliable.” 

TJ only shrugs, although she’s right. 

They sit on the couch rather than at the kitchen table, both of them on opposite ends of it. TJ calls the TV first, making Amber groan and stubbornly cuts her pancakes with a fork. “You called dibs last time,” she comments, “It isn’t fair.” 

TJ turns on a TV show he knows his sister doesn’t like, smirking playfully at her and heading back to the sofa. She only rolls her eyes. “Whatever, I think I might head back up to my room after eating, anyway,” Amber says, eyes glued onto the ceramic plate in her hands. 

“You gonna hang out with Andi today?” TJ asks as soon as the theme to the show begins. His eyes flash between the screen and his food. “You haven’t done that in a while.” 

“Yeah, I know. I was hoping to, actually, with summer break finally here.” 

The reminder that they wouldn’t have to go to school for the next two months comes as a heavy relief to TJ. “And if I do end up going,” Amber continues, “What’re you gonna be up to?” 

TJ hadn’t really thought about it. The only thing that came to mind is going to help his parents out at the repair shop. So he says just that, making Amber pass him a look. “That’s how you spend all your summers.” 

Whenever break rolled around at the end of May, TJ would help his parents at their job. Opened from five in the morning to eleven at night, the Kippens would take the customers who have problems with their own Androids. They’re one of the only mechanics for the machines that don’t charge as much as the original retailers, which is why they need the extra help during the weekends and school breaks. “I have nothing better to do, besides, it’s cool learning about the Androids.” 

“All you’ve learned how to do is fix a gas leak and replace sight and hearing components. So impressive, by the way.” 

TJ wants to tell her that it’s probably more than she could ever do, but bites his tongue. Instead he says, “I think imma head over there now.” He looks down at his plate that still has half a pancake, but decides against forcing himself to finish. He still feels sick from his dream. As TJ stands from the couch, Amber says, “If I don’t end up seeing Andi today, I’ll come down. Maybe. Don’t mention it to dad.” 

“I can’t promise that it won’t slip out, but sure,” TJ puts his now empty plate into one side of the sink. Afterwards he is heading back to his room. “Have fun with your girlfriend.” 

Before he can shut his bedroom door, he hears Amber call out from the couch, “She’s not my girlfriend!”

-

The family business is ran ten minutes away from the Kippen home, placed in between an old gas station and an abandoned antique shop. His mother said that it’s been closed since she was a little girl. Today, when TJ passes it, he looks through the cracked windows and sees the face of a broken doll and a Star Wars poster pinned to one wall with a tear going down the middle. He knows his dad would kill for a poster like that one hung up in their house, of course without the damage. But he forgets to mention of the poster to his dad as soon as he sees a rusty pick-up truck, green paint-job scratched and peeling, pulled up to the front of the shop. A customer, who TJ assumed is the owner of the truck, is arguing with his father about something. He could tell by the posture of his dad and the tight displayed on his face that he was trying not to snap at the customer. TJ hesitantly makes his way over to the front door, cringing when he hears the little bell ring above his head. Two heads snap in his direction, his father’s dull eyes softening while the customer still looks the same. 

“I told you already, sir,” his dad says as soon as he turns away from TJ, “I have no idea what model yours is, I’ve never seen it before. I would really suggest dumping it if you already went to a company store and couldn’t get help there, too.”

The man in front of TJ’s father continues to complain about them not being able to fix his Android. TJ hurriedly enters the shop completely, searching for his mother. He sees the silhouette of a human, and stops dead in his tracks when he sees that it’s someone around his age. Then he sees the tattoo-like band around the upper arm. “Oh,” TJ whispers to himself, quickly realizing that it was in fact not a human standing feet away from him. Rather a busted Android. It’s almost terrifying, to say in the least, how realistic it is compared to a human. It’s hair is messy and curled at the ends, lips a light pink and eyelids fluttered shut gently. TJ takes slow, silent steps to the Android, curious as to what’s exactly wrong with it. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” His mom makes TJ jump, and he’s moving away from the Android. She has black staining her hands. “What’re you doing here so early?” 

“Had another nightmare,” TJ keeps his eyes on the Android, “And didn’t feel like staying cooped up inside the house all day.” 

His mother smiles sadly at him. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Did you hear the argument that man and your dad are having? All over this thing.” She vaguely motions to the Android. “I have no clue as to what year it comes from. Looked it up and everything. I figure it’s one of the first kid ones ever made, possibly a prototype. Not sure how a man like that guy would get his hands on an old prototype, though.” 

“Me neither…” TJ now faces the Android completely. His eyes scan up and down the body of it. Its clothes look new, but its skin is bruised in some places. If it really is one of the first models, it’s almost impossible to tell. “It looks new. Is it turning on?” 

“I got it to blink a few minutes ago,” she answers, “That’s about it.” 

“Maybe there’s something wrong with the battery?” TJ is already walking up behind the Android before his mother could respond. 

“You can check. I’m going to help your dad reason with the owner of this thing.” 

The jingle of the bell tells TJ when she’s gone. He faces the back of the Android’s head, and his fingertips press down against the occipital lobe, hidden away by fake skin and an equally synthetic skull. He had only ever done this once before, having to change out a battery for another one while his father was concerned with another project. He just had to feel for the small button that would activate the- 

“Shit,” TJ curses when it snaps open. The inside of the brain is strictly mechanics, and a socket is provided just centimeters underneath the skin holding a tiny battery, no bigger than the size of his thumbprint. He easily picks out the battery, making the Android jerk underneath his touch. This one is smaller, TJ notes, it being the size of his fingernail. He inspects it for a few seconds, holding it between his fingers and up to the natural light shining through the windows. It’s definitely unlike any battery he’s seen before in an Android. Instead it resembles lithium batteries reserved for calculators or hearing aids. 

He walks away from the Android, going to his dad’s work desk where he would usually spend his time. He sets the button cell down, underneath a light that’s strung above the desk. It definitely looked old, and TJ figures that he shouldn’t be touching it, especially if it had been inside the Android for longer than a year or two. There’s a coating around it, and no corrosion is present on it. He’s seen a button cell before, they nearly look identical to this one- almost. And it makes sense, because he isn’t sure how a battery to a calculator could power an Android.

“Did you get the battery out?” TJ hears his mother’s voice. He wonders how he missed the bell. 

“Uh, yeah. I- could you come look at it? It’s a button cell.” 

“Button cell?” She’s by her son’s side in a matter of seconds. TJ hands over the battery delicately, not wanting to tarnish it even more than it probably already is. Her skinny fingers move around the battery. “Huh. Interesting… I’m- I’m certain this has to be an original model. Either that or someone tried their hand at making their own Android.” She looks at the rust that’s been built up along the Android’s hairline, it seems to be the only place in which it has been tarnished. The man that TJ’s father had gotten the thing from must had never really cared to touch it. TJ wonders just how long the Android had been sitting in the back of the truck before the angered man decided to finally do something with it. And now, as both TJ and his mom look at the machine in front of them, they had no clue what to do with it or where it had came from. 

“I’ll check your dad’s catalogues in the back. He’s got boxes full of ‘em,” his mother says as she pulls her hair back. She slides a hair band down and off her wrist with the first two fingers of her left hand, using it to tie her hair into a high ponytail. “I’ll be right back,” she concludes before she’s off to the back. The disappearance of his mother leaves TJ alone again, without the battery cell to ponder over now that his mom had it tucked away in her hand, now probably the pocket of her work jeans. 

TJ sighs, and spins in the chair until his head gets dizzy and he perfectly faces the Android whose eyes are closed and lips are slightly parted, as if it was breathing during its slumber. It makes TJ nervous, somewhat, like he’s staring at a cadaver or stalking someone in their sleep. Then he sees the rust his mother also laid her eyes on just a minute before, and reminds himself that the machine is only that. No matter how real the synthetic skin looks and how, if TJ hadn’t just pulled a battery out from the back of its head, he would have believed it to be a real boy. 

The thought is scary, so TJ stands up from the work desk. He faces the Android and makes his way back to it, shaky hands and all. Perhaps it was because of how close him and the Android are in age, if Androids aged like humans. They’d never gotten a child Android, TJ’s only ever seen them in stores and on big displays. Yet, he had never seen this one. Maybe that’s the reason why the thing irks him. 

“What are you?” He says aloud. He lifts up his index finger, carefully pushing back some of the hair that had fallen over its forehead from the breeze sweeping through the shop earnestly. 

Just as TJ runs his finger down the temple of the Android, his mother appears from the back of the shop. TJ doesn’t realize until she says, “I found a few from way back when.” She is holding three old magazines in her hands, fingers slipping through the first one of her stack. The boy quickly moves back from the Android, even though he’s certain his mom had seen him touching the Android regardless of his movements. “Does it feel real enough to be an authentic one?” She then questions. 

TJ absentmindedly nods. He doesn’t say it aloud, but he’s almost certain that the skin feels more realistic than any other Android he and his parents had worked with before. It’s way too smooth, yet way too bumpy, he can feel the little hairs smoothing out from underneath his fingertip. He glides it from its cheeks to his chin, then down to its wrist. When TJ presses his thumb against the skin, he expects a pulse. Nothing. He swears he hears his mother giggle from under her breath amongst the turning of old pages. 

When the bell to the door rings, TJ jumps back from the Android. “He took eighty-five for it,” his dad says, sounding prideful of the deal he’d made. TJ eyes the Android. Eighty-five seems like such a low price to shake on. He’s already betting on the Android being able to have goosebumps. 

“We think it’s an original child model, or someone made it themself. Teej found a button cell in the occipital where a normal battery would go,” TJ’s mom fishes out the cell from her pants, then hands it to his dad, “You think it’d be best if we took a look through it? Opened the rest of the lobe and the cerebellum?”

“Have you gotten it to do anything?” His dad questions while still inspecting the button cell between his fingers. 

“It blinked once.” 

“Right. Let’s get to it then. TJ- do you want to try getting the battery to function properly? I still have that Cunningham machine to take care of.” The older man nods towards the back. He’s referring to an Android that’d been in the shop for two days now, one that wouldn’t respond to questions without crashing. 

“Um, I-I guess so, yeah.” 

Both his parents pass him a smile before they leave in opposite directions. TJ’s dad leaves the old battery on the work desk before he reaches the back. 

The boy first looks at the occipital lobe again, being taller than the Android he has to stoop down to get a better look at it. In one hand, he holds a flashlight, the other, a slim screwdriver. He knows his mom would pester him if she saw him poking at the components with rusty tool, but he couldn’t care much when he was far too concerned with getting to the cerebellum. If he could figure out how to connect the new battery and check if the cerebellum was in prime condition, the Android would be able to control motor movements. He’d get the machine to talk to him- or so he could hope as the screwdriver hits something deep within the synthetic occipital lobe, making a new entrance of the Androids head to the cerebellum. TJ holds the head of the flashlight closer to the Android’s head, making sure he was able to see the components clearly. There’s three- red, black, green. They’re tied together, resembling a braid, and it trails down to the Android’s makeshift spinal cord. 

“Alright,” TJ whispers to himself as he uses the screwdriver to close the window to the cerebellum. He flicks off the flashlight and holds it at his side as he exchanges the screwdriver for the button cell. Tiny numbers are engraved into it, BL239. 

He opens the laptop his father has at the work desk. It’s already on, so TJ opens a new webpage to type in the same number of the button cell. The company isn’t printed on it, all he could do was rely on inferences to find the match. He searches through a variety of factory names, making sure to check the sizes of each one. 

As he nears the fifteenth, TJ finds it. A Swiss company that produced them in 2017 to 2018. They stopped production in April 2022. TJ nearly gawks at the dates, they didn’t sound like real years to him. 2022 was now thirty eight years ago, and the decade was only known for the production of the machine standing a few feet behind him. TJ had never known anything else. 

Looking back at the battery, TJ has a good feeling that he wouldn’t be able to find an exact copy of it to fix the Android. It leaves a sinking feeling in his stomach as his eyes trail back to the Android, still looking asleep- still looking unconscious. 

“The batteries stopped being made thirty years ago,” he tells his dad while watching him scalp the Cunningham Android. It isn’t realistic anymore, seeing the synthetic parts of the Android’s insides that are supposed to mimic a human brain. Nothing inside resembles that, though. His dad pauses, licks his lips, and says, “It’s a button cell, right? I’m sure you could find one similar to it, you can check out the gas station next store. Ask mom for a few bucks, they shouldn’t cost much.” The man goes back to work afterwards, leaving TJ to scout out his mother again.

After explaining the situation, TJ gets a ten dollar bill from her. It’s crumpled and torn at one corner, if TJ folds it one more time to put into his pocket it would fall apart, so he keeps it in his palm as he walks to the gas station, empty except for one traveller filling their truck up with gasoline. TJ keeps his head down as he walks past the stranger, up to the automatic sliding doors, they make an entrance for him once he’s a foot away from them. 

TJ’s only ever been inside the gas station to buy a soda or a bag of chips whenever he was at the shop for most of the day. 

He passes by the normal aisle he would go down, looking to see if the gas station actually sold batteries. He passes a first-aid section and over-the-counter medications before finding only a small row of cells. Despite the small amount being available, TJ’s hopes rise as he begins to shuffle through them. There’s two types of button cells, and TJ takes both of them off the hooks they’d previously been hung up on. 

TJ takes out the dead button cell from his pocket, holding it up to the packaged cells. 

He bites his cheek to hold back a smile when the package in his left hand fits perfectly to the dead one. 

-

The plastic packaging tears open easily. TJ leaves the trash on the work desk, keeping the new button cell in his hand. The last one had found its way into the bin. 

TJ then stands in front of the Android. Its eyelashes are fluttered closed, resting gently over its cheekbones. TJ’s finger twitches, and suddenly he can feel the soft, fake skin over his own again. A chill is sent rapidly down his spine. He quickly moves away from the front of the Android, back to the opened part of its occiput. 

He thinks his fingers start to shake as he places the battery inside of the Android. Whether it’s because he’s nervous if it’ll power the machine or not, or if he’s afraid of what will happen if it did turn on, he isn’t sure. Anxiety still builds up inside him even when he’s shutting the door to the occipital lobe, gently touching the shoulders of the Android in case it collapsed when powering on. But instead of collapsing, the Android stays perfectly still. A frown climbs onto TJ’s face as he hastily removes his hands and moves around the Android’s body to be face-to-face with it. 

“Can you hear me?” TJ says aloud, although believing that he’s speaking to no one. “Can you blink again?” Seconds later, he adds, “Please?” 

His dad would make fun of him if he saw his son pleading to an Android. However, TJ couldn’t help but do just that. The Android’s different, TJ couldn’t let it be tossed aside or used for spare parts later. 

He touches its shoulders again. He wishes it to collapse. 

Again, it stays still. Except, this time, the Android’s eyes shoot open, revealing dark brown irises, pitch black pupil accompanying them. “Fuck,” TJ curses, jumping back from the frightment the Android had caused him. His green eyes meet the mocha ones for a few long, silent, deathly silent, seconds. “Can you…” TJ pauses, “Can you hear me?” 

The Android blinks. It creeps TJ out. He tries to take another step back but his feet are tuck to the floor. 

Slowly, the Android nods. A sense of accomplishment floods inside of TJ. “Thank God, okay,” he says. “Um- I- do you have a name?” He sutters, mind racing to find the next thing to ask it. With this question, the Android would have to speak. 

TJ holds his breath. The lips of the machine that’s stiff underneath his fingertips twitch. 

“I… don’t recall,” it answers. 

This time, TJ’s mouth falls open. The Android blinks again, slower. “What did it start with?” 

“A C, I think.” 

TJ hums in confirmation. He racks his brain for names that start with C. 

He says the first one that comes to mind, “Cameron?” 

The Android almost immediately shakes his head, confirming that Cameron was definitely not its name. TJ licks his lip, again searching for names. He’s about to say Christian when the Android’s lips part to speak, it says, “Cyrus. That’s what I was named.” 

“Cyrus,” TJ tries the name, letting the syllables roll of his tongue with ease. 

“Nice to meet you, Cyrus. I’m TJ.”

**Author's Note:**

> no offense but i can't wait until andi comes in so i can develop the possible ambi not to push the main ship to the side or anythin but :^)))))) 
> 
> also i hope whoever read this liked it!!


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